Play finds smT ‘ -
By Liza Holtmeier
Senior Reporter
Have you ever felt like every
one around you is completely
insane? Like you are stuck some
where in between reality and fan
tasy? ""
Jasper has. As the lead charac
1 ter in the play “Somewhere in
Between,” he confronts the mental
friction of others on a daily basis.
“Somewhere in Between,” a
romantic comedy written by Craig
Pospisil and directed by Beth
Muehling, revolves around Jasper,
an everyday guy unhappy with his
life.
The show opens tonight at the
Futz, 124 S. Ninth St.
Through a series of encounters
with “extraordinary” people,
Jasper finds the strength to contin
ue on and find happiness. Along
the way, he meets the woman ot
his dreams.
“Jasper is like Charlie Brown,”
cast member Laura Nettland said.
“All these bad things happen to
him but he finally gets the red
haired girl in the end.”
Muehling said “Somewhere In
Between” was a conscious move
away from the dramas she normal
ly directs at the Futz.
“It was time for me to do a
heavy-duty comedy,” Muehling
said. “My past productions have
been serious looks at life through
the eyes of women and children.
This is light, soft, sweet and
- romantic.**'- ' " • .
Muehling described the play as
. .1 .. J
“Seinfeld”-esque: Ordinary char
acters confront ordinary problems.
“It doesn’t talk about anything
in particular, but it has something
to say,” she said.
Cast member Kelly Sheridan
said the normalcy of the charac
ters made them easily identifiable
to the audience.
“These people aren’t the
brightest or the" luckiest or the
best-looking people,” Sheridan
said. “They’re average. (The audi
ence) should find hope in the hap
piness of these ordinary people.”
While the cast members
worked to portray the reality of
their characters’ conflicts, last
week’s storm offered them some
real-life hassles. Rehearsals - first
moved to Muennng s nouse
because of a lack of space else
where - were delayed and moved
again because of the power outage.
Luckily, the play follows typi
cal black box theater style with
minimal set, costumes and props,
Muehling said. The only extensive
technical element is the use of
sound effects.
“We pulled a lot of stuff that
we were originally going to put
in,” said Dana Wheatley, who
plays Jasper. “It’s been a bit of a
challenge learning the timing, but
it really amplifies the acting.”
Because of the play’s light
tone, Muehling said the only thing
she wanted the audience to take
away from the production was a
smile. ,
“(The audi
ences) are not V
going to feel^- V "
like they have' % v
answers to vj :<j
world peace or ^
world hunger or
the deficit,” Muehlihg / Jj
said. “I don't want them
to have that. If that c /yr }
what they’re coming Jr
for, they’re coming (
to the wrong place.”
Nettlana, who plays Ji
Jasper’s love interest, {X
said she hoped the audi- p
ence would be inspired by «
Jasper. J
“Jasper has kind of (
moved away from this
unhappy point in his life
and is moving
towards a nappier
time,” Nettland
said. “I hope it
encourages
people to really
find what they’
want out of life.”
“Somewhere In
Between” runs tonight,
Thursday and Saturday
and Nov. 13-16. Curtain is
at 8 p.m., except for on Nov.
16, when it’s at /:3U p.m.
Tickets are $5.33 foj
tonight’s per
formance :^
and $ 10.65
for all others. Call ?:?
(402) 435-6307 f^r....
reservations.
* J
_ r
House of Large Sizes
“Glass Cockpit”
What Are Records?
Grade: R+
Rock is gathering moss.
Both national and local acts are
receiving less and less attention from
once avid listeners as album sales have
continued to slump for the past few
years. Reasons for the disinterest in
modem rock are both obvious and dis
puted. Many cite the rapid rape of
grunge rock and the advent of industri
al-age techno as the primary reasons
for die slow vaporization of rock ‘n’
roll. Others claim rock music raped
itself, and the offspring is, of course,
incestuous - spawning duplicate
mutant pop bands and a harem of angry
guitar sisters.
In the midst of the decay and con
fusion, rock music has been divided
and replicated in a number of vague
faces such as alternative, grunge, pop,
ska and techno. Leery of mainstream
success by personal favorites or dis
gusted by die genre-oscillation of pre
viously respected musicians, music
fans are increasingly walking away
from the scene altogether.
But hope is always close to home.
While rock continues to wither,
some groups are breathing new life
into old ideas. Among them is the
farmhand hard rock sound of a leg
endary Cedar Falls, Iowa, band, which
has just released a new album of
ethanol-inspired andpunk-derived gui
tar-god rock
Long-standing Iowa rock founda
tion and road-band spectacular House
of Large Sizes continues to reach sky
ward by returning to its base: the guitar,
embraced like an old friend on its new
album, “Glass Cockpit.”
Not that the guitar was ever left
behind in the 11 years the band has
been touring and recording. In fact, its
reputation is based on a pleasingly
abrasive mix of The Who, Aerosmith
and barnyard punk rock; and this
newest effort bears many features of its
progenitors, plus a veritable Brach’s
bag of previously unheard hard pop
candy.
“Glass Cockpit"’ is a shiny work of
sticky guitar hooks, rock howls and
jaded rural pride accompanied by an
exploration of classic rock tradition
and noticeably pointed lyrics. Bassist
Barb Schilf’s tough vocals and heavy
instrumental presence is also a wel
come emphasis of the three-piece band,
which has experimented with her role
as vocalist in the past
ielepathically as tight as three peo
ple can be and not share the same skin,
HOLS gained notoriety over the years
for blindingly entertaining live shows
fueled by a love for classic guitar and
noncommittal youth-oriented mes
sages.
The band’s first album in three
years and the third since 1986, “Glass
Cockpit” flies through 15 homegrown
rock cuts with jubilant three-chord bril
liance, heavy bass and lyrics reminis
cent of teen-idol acts like Sonic Youth.
In an age where popular music is '*
becoming increasingly less so, rock V
roll is struggling against the trappings
of music store labeling, top 40 schlock
rock and worn-out imagery.
Available at Homer’s locations,
“Glass Cockpit’’ is a refreshing and
occasionally brilliant collection of
classic rock inspiration, punk rock atti
tude and contemporary ingenuity.
-Bret Schulte
WtcwooSfcoy* u*tfcsFofe a Some, of make ooft. S£t£cno*S Tfts as we might oufc Romaic £
Wioe fttotffcOP S&ASo^fUMONte P*U» OfcJ'WE BASIS OP MOtvAt. CM«C€$ OREO Plotter VUCOHStiOOS l
PftOM^BCOUOUBAAfnbMAt'ro lATIMAta AM? SttffiC? V*otf,W*Ui£ tO'de**$f^0(Ktte£ft»lW«AG£P %
TVe. otsPtftATtuy meeds. OWS Sat out otstauc-nve cwjtonoooc.AM?msma* cjjo of » 4
IflfcRS U)WO M**t* UP WITH OOfc MAfefJ&TlWSAMG ?K)f3L M
PUUAOS of S£tP-U>ATH>*)6AM? M1STW369 A6Al*)A*JPA«A^AM>A«W %
ii^ogn4«LS&ss^ r-~~-sT^ f
aooftEMi«JOM6oP\ | -f
UA4T"TO Y MtfMOH.SMCtfAS \ ft
HcfirfaL (MtcaMg, I #
Amjpitocvctto / |
Atwc. t^jT i
Mv^mujtetfawV^' i
ttMi MimtMNA |
1 3
u»S£3**«. >r ■ 9
. . fc . i i
:Tl
i ,
•••I .